Westfield Meriden
Westfield Meriden, originally the Meriden Square Mall, and later Westfield Shoppingtown Meriden, is a shopping mall located in Meriden, Connecticut. At almost 900,000 square feet, Westfield Meriden is Connecticut's seventh largest mall, housing over 140 shops. As of October 2015, the mall's anchor stores are Boscov's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy and Macy's. The Westfield Group acquired the mall in 1997. Westfield Meriden is located along Interstate 691 and Connecticut Route 71, very close to the geographic center of the state. History The facility opened in 1971, originally a two-level, dumbbell shaped shopping center with two anchor stores, the Connecticut-based G. Fox chain and JCPenney. A 1993 renovation added a two-level wing anchored by a new Sears department store and also included a new food court, creating a T-shaped floor plan. In 1993, the G. Fox chain merged with Filene's, and Filene's expanded and took over the G. Fox store. In 2006, the Meriden location became a Macy's. The mall was expanded again in an ambitious renovation announced in 1997. The renovation saw an extra floor area of 147,425 sq ft (13,696.2 m2) added to the center, as well as an additional 30 stores, creating a cross-shaped floor plan. The new anchor, built opposite Sears, was the upscale department store Lord & Taylor, the centerpiece of the $38 million revitalization and expansion plan. In addition to its new anchor, a multistory parking garage was also built beside Sears on the end of the mall facing Lewis Avenue. The renovation was completed and officially opened in 1999. In 2001, Target opened across the street from the mall. Due to the largely middle-class demographics of the Meriden area, however, Lord & Taylor announced within a few years of opening that the company did not see a future at the mall, and the store was soon closed. Westfield quickly moved to fill the vacancy by bringing two new “big box” anchors to the mall; Best Buy, which filled the former EbLens space, and Dick's Sporting Goods, which moved right into the empty Lord & Taylor space. Both T.J. Maxx and Old Navy ultimately opened stores at the end of this wing of the mall as well, creating four mini-anchors. On January 15, 2014, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing as part of a plan to close 33 stores nationwide. The store closed in May 2014. On September 29, 2014, it was announced that Best Buy would close at the mall on November 1, 2014. However, after reaching an agreement with the mall, the company announced on October 16, 2014 that the store would be staying open at the mall. In October 2015, Boscov's opened a store in the former JCPenney space, both expanding and completely remodeling the structure. The location is Boscov's first in Connecticut and in the entire New England region. On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 40 stores nationwide. The store closed in February 2019. Macy's announced their store would be closing in March 2020 on January 7th, 2020. Gallery Videos File:MALL TOUR 2017 Westfield Meriden (Meriden, CT)|Mall Tour File:UrbEx Sears Walkthrough - Westfield Mall - Meriden, CT|Sears Tour Category:Malls in Connecticut Category:Malls in the United States Category:Shopping Malls Category:Westfield Malls Category:Malls that opened in 1971 Category:Multi-Level Malls Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls Category:Former JCPenney-anchored Malls Category:Former Lord & Taylor-anchored Malls Category:Macy's-anchored Malls Category:Old Navy-anchored Properties Category:T.J. Maxx-anchored Properties Category:Best Buy-anchored Malls Category:Dick's-anchored Malls Category:Former Filene's-anchored Malls